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Unit 2 Biological Evolution of Humans*

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Unit 2 Biological Evolution of Humans* UNIT 2 BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION OF HUMANS* Structure 2.1 Objectives 2.2 Introduction 2.3 Theories of Evolution 2.3.1 Pre-Darwin Theories of Evolution 2.3.2 Darwinism 2.3.3 Synthetic Theory of Evolution 2.4 Hominization 2.4.1 Bipedalism 2.4.2 Encephalization 2.4.3 Sexual Dimorphism 2.4.4 Other Factors 2.5 Human Evolution 2.5.1 Before Homo 2.5.2 Evolution of Genus Homo 2.6 Summary 2.7 Key Words 2.8 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises 2.9 Suggested Readings 2.10 Instructional Video Recommendations 2.1 OBJECTIVES This Unit deals with the biological evolution of humans. After going through the Unit, you will be able to: z Describe the phenomenon of evolution; z Compare and evaluate the various theories of evolution; z Explain the contribution of Darwin to evolution; z Appreciate how fossils are the greatest evidence of evolution of humans; z Identify differences between apes and humans; and z Explain how apes transformed to Homo sapiens. 2.2 INTRODUCTION Hall and Hallgrímsson (2008) defined evolution as ‘change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations’. Herbert Spencer, an English philosopher and sociologist, first articulated the term ‘evolution’ in 1862 to denote the * Prof. Rashmi Sinha, Faculty of Anthropology, School of Social Sciences, Indira Gandhi National 32 Open University, New Delhi. historical development of life. Evolution is the progressive change within the organism. Biological This change is termed as ‘micro-evolution’when it occurs over a period of time and Evolution of referred as ‘macro-evolution’ when it involves the transformational changes from one Humans being to the other. Charles Darwin, a significant evolutionist defined evolution as ‘descent with modification’which implies that closely related species resembleeach other because of the inheritance; and differ from each other owing to the hereditary differences acquired during the separation of their ancestors. Before embarking on the evolution of human beings, let us first understand the process of evolution, with its various theories. 2.3 THEORIES OF EVOLUTION The evolutionary thought ranges from classical theories of Aristotle to the modern synthetic theory of evolution. These various theories serve as basis of understanding the evolution of life and its diversity. These also determine the successive stages unto which the modern theory of evolution came into being. 2.3.1 Pre-Darwin Theories of Evolution Charles Darwin is known to be the scientist who changed the course of evolutionary theory and established a firm ground on which evolution could be studied. However, before Darwin, many theories were put forward which actually laid down the path for the growth of evolutionary thought. Beginning from Greek thinkers to the theories of Lyell, the Pre-Darwin theories talk about ways in which scholars before Darwin understood evolution. Greek Philosophies Greek philosophers such as Aristotle (384-322 BCE), Herodotus (484-425 BCE) and Empedocles (504-433 BCE) were the pioneer scholarswho proposed the idea of evolution. They believed in the idea of the continuity of life forms giving rise to new forms. Aristotle proposed that living organisms have certain inner abilities to strive better through the process of adaptation. He observed this potential among plants, animals and humans. Being the first to highlight the insights of humans, Aristotle is also credited for coining the term Anthropology or the study of human beings (for further details see Section 1.8, Unit 1 of this course) and is therefore known as the ‘Father of Anthropology’. Herodotus and Empedocles also developed certain ideas related to living beings and their biological evolution. The ideas of these philosophers indicated the concept of adaptation; plants evolving before animals indicating the gradual evolution of higher organisms, and finally the humans. The obsolete Theory of Spontaneous Generation or Abiogenesis holds that life originated from inanimate and inorganic matter such as manure, dew, rotten slime, dry wood, sweat and meat etc. Until the 17th century, scientists like Aristotle, Thales, Plato and Von Helmont supported the idea of abiogenesis. By the middle of the 19th century abiogenesis was refuted by Francesco Redi, Spallanzani and Louis Pasteur. Theories of Medieval Times The medieval times also famous as ‘the Christian era’ in the European world refuted the views of evolution given by Greeks. This time period was dominated by the Christian Theory of Special Creation. According to this theory all living organisms present on the earth were created by supernatural power in six days. Since all these living forms 33 Evolution of are created by divine power, they are non-changeable and permanent from the day of Humankind their creation. Spanish Priest, Father Suarez (1548-1671) was a strong supporter of this theory which was followed until middle of the 19th century. The Theory of Eternity of Present Condition proposes the unchanging nature of the universe. This theory states that organisms remain unchanged throughout their individual existence and will remain in the same form throughout eternity. Theories of Organic Evolution By mid-18th century the idea of the biological evolution of living organisms had revolutionized the scientific world. During this time Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) a Swedish Botanist, published his immortal work ‘Systema Naturae’(1735). Linnaeus also introduced the binary nomenclature of living organisms and designated each organism with two Latin names, one for Genus and the other for Species. Since the time of Linnaeus, Humans have been scientifically termed as Homo-Sapien. In the late 18th century, the French scientist, Comte de Buffon (1707-1788) who was contemporary of Carl Linnaeus, stated that life forms are not fixed and permanent. He argued that the evolution of living organisms is strongly influenced by the environment. Thereafter, another 18th century evolutionist, Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802), the grandfather of Charles Darwin, highlighted the evolutionary aspects of animals through his work and strongly recommended that the life on the earth must have been evolving for millions of years whereas the evolution of humankind is the most recent. Lamarck (1744-1829), a French naturalist, was the first evolutionary scientist who confidently proffered the idea of biological change in the living organisms. His theory of evolution explaining the origin of new species is called ‘Inheritance of Acquired Characters’. Lamarck, who possessed specialization in animal classification, perceived that the various species could be arranged into an orderly relationship that will form a continuous succession extending from the simplest little polyp to complex human. He was the first naturalist who believed that animals modify themselves in order to adapt to the altered conditions of environment. In his theory he stated that species were not constant but were derived from pre-existing species. He further suggested that the structure of an organism is majorly dependent on its function. He presented the example of Giraffe for the justification of his theory, explaining that the long-neck of Giraffe could have been evolved because of its continuous stretching and use in order to reach higher foliage on trees. Based on this observation, he propounded a theory based on four principles, namely: 1) Use and disuse of organs 2) The acquired characteristics are inherited 3) Internal urge 4) Direct environment and new desires For him, Giraffe’s long neck was an acquired character which was inherited by the next generations. Similarly, snake’s smooth body was the result of disuse of its limbs as it chose to live in burrows. Unfortunately, Lamarck’s theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics did not prove tenable among the scientific community because it was not supported by enough evidence to resolve all the queries. However, it was proved to be an important milestone in evolutionary biology. 34 George Cuvier (1769-1832) another French scientist disapproved Lamarck’s theory Biological of evolution; however, he supported views on fossil evidence and biological relationship. Evolution of He believed that dinosaurs disappeared from the planet due to ‘fixity’ of species. He Humans further advocated the theory of ‘Catastrophism’ which argues that changes in the earth’s crust have been caused by sudden natural disasters.The theory however was not fully supported by scientific explanation. Charles Lyell (1797-1875), a significant geologist and English lawyer, refuted Cuvier’s Catastrophism theory. Lyell in his famous book ‘Principles of Geology’ (1830-1833) which was published in three-volumes, reported that unlike the Biblical view, the earth must be older than few thousand years; and it has undergone numerous structural and climatic changes that occurred gradually over geological time scale through natural processes like, erosions, earthquakes, glacial movements and volcanoes. He also presented conclusive evidence for the theory of uniformitarianism which holds that the earth’s natural changes acted in the same manner and intensity in the past as they act in the present. 2.3.2 Darwinism A study of existing theories before Darwin, led Charles Darwin (1809-1882) to think of the process of evolution of living beings and subsequently, in 1859, he propounded his famous theory of natural selection in his famous book ‘Origin of Species’. According to Darwin, natural selection is the process by which organisms adapt to changes in their environment and are able to survive and thus reproduce. Darwin was influenced by the works of significant scholars such as Sir Charles Lyell, T.R. Malthus and Alfred Russel Wallace. The Two Major Influences on Darwin Malthus and his Theory of Population Alfred Russel Wallace and his Principle of Natural Selection z Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834) was an 18th century English philosopher and z Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) was a economist. British naturalist, biogeographer, author z Malthus proposed the principle that while and humanitarian. human populations grow exponentially z Wallace was a co-discoverer of the theory (i.e., double with each cycle), food of evolution with Darwin.
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